Etihad Airways to launch flights to holy city of Medina

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will launch non-stopdailyflights to Medina, the regional capital of the western Saudi Arabian province of Al Madinah and the second holiest city in Islam after the Holy city of Mekkah.

With the addition of the new service, which will start on
February 12014,Etihad Airways will now offer 50 weekly flights to four
destinations in Saudi Arabia which, along with Medina, include Dammam, Riyadh
and Jeddah.

Flights between Abu Dhabi and Medina
will be
operated by an A320 aircraft fitted with 16 Pearl Business Class and 120
Economy Class seats, offering a total 1,904 seats per week.

The new
services are set to meet growing demand from religious Hajj and Umrah
travellers wishing to visit this Holy city which is the home of Prophet
Mohammed’s Mosque and burial site.

They
will also allow maximum connectivity over Abu Dhabi for flights betweenSaudi
Arabia and the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, GCC and Europe, as well as serving
strong point to point traffic.

James
Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are
delighted to announce the introduction of Medina to the Etihad Airways’ global
flight network. Saudi Arabia
has always been akeymarket for Etihad
Airways and Medinais therefore an important strategic destination for the
airline.

“Our new flights will cater to the Saudi Arabian
population living in the UAE, as well as to the growing numbers of business and
religious travellers looking to fly to the city.

“The demand for the Umrah flights has always been very strong and with
plans for the expansion of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque underway, we expect this
demand to continue to grow in the future,” Mr Hogan said.

The new
service to Medina will be Etihad Airways’ ninth destination in the Arabian Peninsula,
joining Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Muscat, and Sana’a.